What else can blind people do besides massage
Reporter investigates the employment status of blind people
● Generally speaking, massage is still the main employment for blind people, and massage is the most important channel for blind people to find employment and the largest number of employment channels.The main reason is that the comprehensive cultural quality of the blind group needs to be improved
● At present, the employment of blind people has gradually shown a diversified development trend. Some blind people are engaged in piano tuning, psychological consultation, teachers, civil servants, etc., as well as sales in Internet companies.
● It is necessary to continuously improve basic education and higher education, and enhance the overall comprehensive cultural quality and professional quality of the blind group; it is necessary to correctly understand the value of the disabled group, and it is necessary to make it clear that it is the social responsibility of the enterprise to recruit the disabled, including the blind; Policy support, give policy encouragement
□ Our reporter Han Dandong
□ Intern Yang Huijia
Zhang Xu, a native of Hebei, is 38 years old and suffers from a congenital eye disease. He used to be able to see him during the day and was engaged in farming at home. But as he got older, his eye diseases continued to worsen. “What can I do if my eyes are invisible” is a question he has been thinking about.
Later, he chose a path of employment for the vast majority of blind people-Tuina massage. In 2016, he signed up for a free class for blind people to learn massage theory and massage techniques. The learning process was not easy. Some of the 40 students in the class did not persevere, or did not find a suitable job in the end, but Zhang Xu successfully completed his studies and entered a blind massage shop in Baoding, Hebei.
“What can I do?” This is also a question that Wang Qiang (pseudonym), a blind man in his 40s, has repeatedly pondered. He didn’t want to settle for the status quo. He first engaged in massage and then went to college to study music. After graduation, he started his own business and engaged in public welfare undertakings. Now he works in the social responsibility department of a well-known Internet company.
In Wang Qiang’s view, he is lucky to be able to engage in different jobs. “Whether we admit it or not, for the blind, the main employment channel is still massage.”
“On the whole, massage is still the main employment for the blind, and massage is the most important channel for the blind to find employment and the most employable channel.” He Chuan, vice chairman of the China Association for the Blind and chairman of the Beijing Association for the Blind, was interviewed by a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily. Said that the main reason is that the comprehensive cultural quality of the blind group needs to be improved.
He Chuan also pointed out that as more and more blind people improve their cultural quality, more and more companies fulfill their social responsibilities, and the development of information technology, the current employment of blind people has gradually shown a diversified trend. Some blind people are engaged in piano Tuning, psychological counseling, teachers, civil servants and other jobs, as well as sales and other positions in Internet companies such as Didi and Apple.
He further analyzed that the development of information technology has enabled more and more blind people to use the Internet and provided multiple possibilities for their employment, such as engaging in music arrangement and composition on music trading platforms, recording audiobooks in apps such as Himalayas, etc. .
“Especially when recording audiobooks, I have learned that more and more blind people are strengthening their studies on this, and some have succeeded in finding jobs.” He Chuan said that recording audiobooks on platforms such as the Himalaya App is billed by the hour. It is a novel and suitable profession for the blind.
The reporter noticed in the interview that some companies have paid attention to the market of blind people’s intelligent application field, and at the same time, they are also actively recruiting blind people. Beijing Mind Interactive Technology Co., Ltd. is one of them.
Mind Interactive is a company mainly engaged in barrier-free informatization, creating barrier-free intelligent application environments for the visually impaired, and providing online social and spiritual entertainment products and services. The company employs blind people in different positions, and blind employees account for one-third of the company’s employees.
“In addition to hiring blind people for employment and inviting blind people to take up positions such as programmers and product managers, we also strive to promote employment lines suitable for the career development of blind people, including audiobook dubbing, blind anchors, blind e-sports, etc.” Mind Interactive Market Department Director Yu Haiju said that he hopes that through the demonstration of mental interaction, more companies can join in, and work together to actively promote the diversification of employment for the blind, so that the blind can better integrate into the society.
Yu Haiju said frankly that when recruiting, for the visually impaired, many companies will worry about whether they are qualified for these tasks and whether they need special care. In fact, as long as the company provides a little convenience when the blind enters a job, such as arranging their workstations on the side to facilitate their travel and going to the toilet; a few days before the entry, they can be familiar with the office environment and the surrounding convenience stores, subway stations, etc. NS. In the process of work, the blind employees are very good, many of them are very capable and can complete their work satisfactorily.
Yu Haiju said: “When I first entered the company, I didn’t understand my blind colleagues and wanted to help them fetch water, but the actual situation is that they don’t need it at all. Everyone has a very strong ability to take care of themselves and work like ordinary colleagues.”
Even so, “still focusing on massage” also shows the narrow employment channels for the blind. Interviewees also believe that there are varying degrees of employment discrimination against blind people. In fact, many blind people are now able to use computers, mobile phones and other products just like ordinary people, but in the job market, many recruiters do not consider hiring blind people at all.
Dr. Li Jing from the Law School of the China Institute of Labor Relations believes that adequate publicity is a major prerequisite for eliminating discrimination. She made three suggestions. The first is to publicize the basic situation of the blind group to the company and the public, eliminate psychological disapproval of the blind group, and make everyone realize that the blind group is not incapable of working and living. Entering a company does not increase the burden, but can Create value tangibly;
Secondly, it is necessary to further enhance the corporate social responsibility. In recent years, some e-commerce and Internet companies have actively provided jobs for the disabled, including blind people, and most blind people are also qualified for these jobs. This work needs to be further promoted.
Finally, in order to form a good employment environment, government departments must provide corresponding policy support, and further implement the existing policies for the reduction and exemption of employment security funds for the disabled.
“You can consider giving employers some employment policy support, so that when they hire blind people and other disabled people, it can also help the development of the company and truly achieve a’win-win’.” Li Jing suggested.
He Chuan also emphasized the importance of publicity: on the one hand, it is to let more people understand that blind people are capable of most jobs and can realize their own value. Understanding the recruitment of blind people as charity is the social responsibility that enterprises should bear.
With regard to further promoting the diversification of employment for the blind, He Chuan puts forward three suggestions:
The first is the level of the blind group. The state should continuously improve basic education and higher education, and continuously improve the overall comprehensive cultural and professional qualities of the blind group;
The second is the social and enterprise level. It is necessary to correctly understand the value of the disabled group, and it is the social responsibility of the enterprise to recruit the disabled, including the blind;
The third is the policy level. On the one hand, the employment of blind people cannot allow enterprises to take full responsibility. For companies that are willing, corresponding policy support and policy encouragement should be provided. On the other hand, more reasonable provision should be made for blind people who take the vocational qualification examination convenient.
“In recent years, the overall trend in the employment situation of blind people is good. Last year, blind people were successfully admitted to civil servants. I hope that more companies will open up job opportunities to blind people in the future. At the same time, I also hope that more vocational qualification examinations will not block blind people. Outside the door.” He Chuan said.
In Li Jing’s view, the industries that blind people can engage in can be further expanded. In the context of advocating integrated education, if integrated education can be implemented, special education can be carried out in special education schools, and the construction of a disciplinary system can be completed, the school’s education system and professional choices can be diversified, and the direction of education for the blind and social employment can be promoted. Effective docking between.
“In the past, due to the insufficient development of Internet technology, most blind people chose to engage in traditional industries such as massage. However, with the rapid development of Internet technology, it has become possible to use AI and other intelligent technologies to provide a barrier-free working environment for the blind.” Li Jing Say.
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